- Date
- June 11, 1983, 17:33 local (22:33 UTC)
- Place
- Chicago, IL
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 15 minor, 125 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N7273UBoeing 727-222A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830611027729A
- Case key
- 11997
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During the takeoff roll, the #1 eng failed & the takeoff was aborted at aprx 70 KTS. The aircrew taxied the acft clear of the rwy & stopped on the reverse high speed turnoff. The aircrew of another company acft transmitted that the #1 eng was on fire. There was no fire warning light in the cockpit, but the #1 eng was shut down & a fire extinguisher was discharged into the eng. Another radio call was received that the eng was still on fire & a second extinguisher was discharged into the eng. The other 2 engs were also shut down & all occupants were evacuated using the emergency exits. Two passengers received serious injuries. An investigation revealed the 2nd stage turbine disk had fractured from fatigue which initiated at the base of cavities in the bottom of the air seal groove. The inside & outside surfacesof the disk air seal groove showed signs of fretting as if the mating air seal had been moving fore & aft within the groove.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7273U
- Reported as
- Boeing 727-222A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21420
- Airframe hours
- 14,777
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-15, 15,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- United Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Destination
- TPA · Tampa, FL
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- ORD · O'Hare, runway 22L, 8,071 × 150 ft, concrete
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 57
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 11,926 total · 11,307 in this make and model · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ORD
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.